So - we have on site a Beckmann liquid scintillation counter that is used mostly for radiation monitoring of spills/uses. It"s used a little by research people, but that has become less and less over the years (they mostly use films and special counters). Therefore the majority of use is by me doing monthly wipes and such. There is not a lot to this, literally maybe 20-30 swipes a month at the most (and really I could make it less).

The big question is this. Our scintillation counter is on it"s last leg - and in fact that leg may have been broken today. I can"t repair it as it"s simply too old, and there is nobody around to service it anymore. I was wondering if anybody had experience using the single sample counters that I"ve seen available. With that, does anybody have a cost estimate of what those things run generally? I simply need a counter for compliance with the NRC - and we could do it different way if necessary. This just happened today, and so I haven"t really had time to think about it, but I thought I"d ask all of you out there what you are using at your University.

We are a small school, undergraduate only, so I don"t have research dollars to purchase a new counter. I"d like something that"s relatively simple, robust, and reliable. Any thoughts?

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